Fortuitously, if Newt Gingrich does indeed declare his presidential candidacy, we'll already have a blueprint for his campaign available, which he published last year as a direct challenge to Barack Obama.

This year's holiday season has seen a notable influx in secular and atheist billboards and bus banners sarcastically challenging the veracity of the Christmas story. One in New Jersey reads: "You KNOW it's a myth. This season, celebrate reason."

Rather than giving partisan responses to partisan rebukes, Democrats should shift the ideological rubric altogether. One can only wonder at a political environment where deregulation could be labeled as "anarchy".

Every American has the right to speak out, to express views, and to serve as an advocate for all manner of issues and prospective leaders. But having rights doesn't necessarily mean they're valuable, or even useful at all.

Models for pluralistic societies based on liberal democratic values exist throughout the historical landscape, independent of the Judeo-Christian tradition. It bodes well that they may be freely adopted by all cultures.

When a corporation falls short of regulatory standards it does not do so accidentally. Rather, it is a calculated choice based on risible enforcement efforts and piddling penalties passed by legislators on the take.

If the legislative efforts in Washington last year reveal anything, it's that politics and policymaking are corrupted overwhelmingly by perverse electoral incentives. Obama's goals depend on his leadership in fixing this.

Underlying the prospect for renewed diplomacy with Damascus is the universally accepted possibility that Assad will merely feign peace efforts without ever following through -- for which he, and his father before him, are notorious.